The Secrets of Fractional T1
If a full T1 isn't in your budget, you need to consider a fractional T1 line instead. Why not get all the extra advantages of T1 even if you’re not in a market for a full T1? For many people the biggest factor in their choice is reliability. You must think about it too if reliability is vital to the applications you run over your network line. If you are currently using DSL for your internet connection, you should seriously consider replacing it with fractional T1. DSL is a quick and inexpensive method of acquiring high speed bandwidth in Wexford, however it is not intended to support commercial applications or large numbers of users as are T1 connections.
A disadvantage with fractional T1 service is the price. Even though you won't have a full T1, you will be paying quite a bit more than you did for your DSL connection. This is because of the structure of T1 pricing. A T1 connection is established by installing a "loop" or wire from the user's building to the CO where the service provider has equipment. Part of the cost of a T1 is the "loop charge" or the monthly rental fee for the cable that is provided by the local phone company. Once the line gets to the CO it can tie into the carrier’s network and communicate with any destination. This loop is paid in full whether you use a fraction of the available capacity or the full 1.5Mbps and therefore your cost for a 768Kbps fractional T1 connection will never be fifty percent of the cost of a 1.5mbps full T1 connection.
Although the price reduction is not what you might wish it to be, this may still put a fractional T1 within your budget and be the best way to get dedicated service into your building. Once you have fractional service, migrating to full service is easy. Fractional service usually comes in 256Kbps increments from 256Kbps up to a full T1 at 1.5Mbps. Find the service that's best for you, but if you are supporting important services, think about reliability. Reliability becomes important when customers or employees need to use your connection for immediate responses. If your customers use your connection to access your databases or your server or the Internet, then reliability of your connection is critical. If your employees depend on your connections because you host the e-mail server in house or host web servers or ASP type products, your communication lines can be thought of as critical. A critical connection can be thought of like a lifeline, without which your company would be in trouble.
